Against All Odds
by ayamikeage
Summary: Van and Hitomi song fic... meet after one year, for the last time... express feelings "finally!" enjoy!


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A little long… but… I think if you like them together… you'll like it… hopefully… R/R... enjoy… characters: Escaflowne… and song by Westlife and Mariah Carey…

Van looked strained to see through the dusky fog waltzing over the rooftops of a newly rebuilt Fanelia, as he relaxed his body on the rooftop of his palace. _It had been a year. _His lungs embraced the frigid atmosphere. Dusting his hands, and settling his sword back in its shield, Van rendered humbly to his chambers on the western part of the grounds, enjoying the addictive tranquility. 

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How can I just let you walk away?

Just let you leave without a trace… but only a pendant_   
When I stand here taking every breath   
With you…_'wish you were here, memories are not enough'

The door creaked silently as he moved into his motionless obscure room. He cautiously lit the candles around his bed, removing one of the candles. The work desk was sheeted with piles of parchments, either laws or issues his government officials waited his signature. In seek of a quill, Van opened his night table discovering memories revived. Amid a few cherished items of his parents was the pendant. How he had attempted to disregard looking inside… enough to stumble his thoughts. Reminiscences of the strange girl from the Mystic Moon arose. _Hitomi. _He cribbed the pleasant memory while lying back on the royal blue velvet sheets. 

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"Forget her! The future of Fanelia depends on their king's ability to keep his mind on the matters at hand!" _he remembered his closest official advising him…_

You're the only one, who really knew me at all 

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One year. The words were heart throbbing and frustrating. Each second and day of the first month was painful, but by now, eleven months later, she would have thought she could deal. Yet the distressing thought of the second year from the _last time_ disconcerted her more. Would she go on with her life, never forgiving herself for not reacting to her feelings sooner while she was in Gaea? Turning on the radio's volume, she allowed her clothes to fall until her feet as her feet tip toed circuitously the floor, hating the touch of the icy placid floor. She rang her fingers over the bubbly water before slowly retreating inside the bathtub. Gripping on to the sides of the slippery bathtub and keeping her head carefully above water level, Hitomi closed her eyes. 

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Van woke to a sudden halt, noticing the sun peaked over the verdant hills. He ran and pulled on his robes. He ceased and listened to the silence of the palace. A little too silent for his like. He strode through the palace, winding every path and taking narrow passages, yet not finding a single soul. 'Am I dreaming?' He stopped and looked out the parlor's window at the gleaming royal gardens stretching miles. A slender white fabric erupted from behind a row of bushes. He watched in awe as a young girl, his age submerged from the emerald twined branches. What seemed a little more than a fancy white bed sheet sheltered her slim delicate body. Her head turned gracefully towards him. _Hitomi. _

Faking death, he sprinted off the balcony and started running towards her, even though a sharp pain jetted through his left leg. 

He stood hesitating, but deep down, any moment he knew his emotions would spill out through his body… his hands… his lips. 

"You're back," he could hardly whisper, but she perhaps read it through his gaze. 

Hitomi nodded, craving a love adrenaline rushing through her mouth, the flavor of his lips pressed against hers. 

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How can you just walk away from me   
When all I can do is watch you leave 

  
"I don't know what I'd have done if I didn't," Hitomi whispered, " You and I both know that this could be the last time."

The world dissolved them, sending them to the Mystic Moon. On the empty grounds of a garden, the strong odor of grass surrounds them as a soft tune plays from an unknown source.

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I need to know Van, before my mind tortures me for the rest of my life… 

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Cos we shared the laughter and the pain   
And even shed the tears 

You're the only one who really knew me at all 

"Stay," he murmured, just standing motionless.

Restrained with his movement, she backs off, thinking he has no emotion, " It can never be like that Van. Just forget it!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, " You might as well have buried the pendant a million meters under the ocean with all your memory of me…"

"But I didn't!" Van yelled, " Hitomi Kansake, stop being stubborn!" 

She stood surprised: he had been offering his hand for the past few minutes.

"Teach me the way you dance here…," Van grinned mysteriously. Hitomi grinned and tediously lead his arms around her waist and put her hands around his neck. 

"If it's just a dream?" Hitomi whispered. 

"I'll bet my life it isn't. It seems as real I would like it to be," Van answered, pressing her body against his. 

"Just move to the rhythm of the music," Hitomi informed, lying her head delicately on

his shoulder, not intrigued by her desire for his touch. 

She felt like telling him so much… '_Take a look at me now_' a voice inside forcefully screamed.

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Cos there's just an empty space.

There's nothing left here, to remind me   
Just the memory of your face   
"So take a look at me now… cos there's just an empty space," she felt words from her lips, actually repeating her thoughts. 

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How much he wanted to tell her that he wanted her back. He missed her those twelve long strenuous months. She helped to get back Fanelia. She understood him. She was part of him. 

"And you coming back to me   
Is against the odds   
And that's what I've gotta face," he said, trying to keep his voice strong, but failing. 

She suddenly backed her foot away. She lifted her head, enough to show the deep waves

of water rippling in her eyes. Her lips were curved laughing at him. "Van, you need more practice in dancing."

He couldn't help himself from laughing. Her white dainty slippers were stained with black from the soles of his boots. She giggled, again, seeking to make the moment less tense. She glued her tiptoed feet on top of his solid boots as they pranced across the grass. She bowed her head, in deep thought. 

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H POV~

I wish I could just make you turn around   
Turn around and see me cry   
There's so much I need to say to you … How much I love you  
So many reasons whyYou complete me… how could I be so blind? 

You're the only one, who really knew me at all 

She broke down into tears on his black robe, " It will never be real, it's only a dream!"

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So take a look at me now …

"take a look," Van whispered, catching her thoughts. She raised her head, and discovered, him pointing to his heart. His eyes seemed less misty but the pain was abundant.

  
"_There's just an empty space   
There's nothing left here to remind me   
Just the memory of your face," _He cupped her face, moving his hands around._   
"So take a look at me now." 'Be strong, Hitomi' _

"If it's a dream, I'll pray that you return," she swallowed her tears. 

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"There's just an empty space   
But to wait for you   
Is all I can do and that's what I've gotta face," she continued, her body aching for his touch as he moved his hands down her body. A giant clock nearby chimed, telling her, that they only had two minutes left before sunrise… and she'd wake up. 

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Take a good look at me now   
"Cos I'll still be standing there   
And you coming back to me is against the odds and that's the chance I've gotta take… That's why you've gotta be strong," Van whispered, lowering his head, and kissing her tears away_. _

chance I've gotta take, gotta take… 

"Take a look at me now" Hitomi whispered back, approaching his lips. 

One minute…

"Take a look at me now…," Van bent down, giving way to his emotions and desires as he kissed Hitomi passionately. Never wanting to let go of the moment. Telling himself he'd still be there when the light entered the grounds, tasting every inch of lips and feeling her body. He grasped her tightly as the clock started to chime loudly. 

He could hear her whispering every few breath "I'll never let go." He pressed her body against a tree as the world started to dissolve. His nightclothes, only pants, started to reappear on his body (AN: had robes on) , the pendant still in his grasp. The white sheet covering her body dissolved into his hands, as nothing came between her body. He kissed her madly as his own body started dissolve. Before he left entirely he quickly yelled at her, clutching her hand and putting a ring, bearing a diamond into her hand, " Be strong, I love you, never forget…" his voice drifted off.

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Van woke up hastily from his bed, gasping for air as his servants rushed about, asking what was wrong. His hand tightened around the pendant as he shrugged them off violently, gazing dreamily at the Mystic Moon…

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Hitomi woke fiercely and sneezed immediately. She jumped out from the bathtub and grabbed a towel. She was probable going to be sick for a week… but she couldn't care less. She touched the warm red imprint of his hand on her body, and closed her eyes, trying to capture the moment. Tears streamed down, it wasn't a dream. Clutched to her hand was a ring. The initials on the ring belonged to Van's mom at marriage… She smiled to herself as she got out and went for breakfast. 


End file.
